Theater offers perfect stage for country's flying acrobats

Beijing's Chaoyang Theater, which principally stages acrobatic shows, is one of the city's most important performance venues. It benefits from convenient transportation links, a favorable location in the capital's central business district, and offers audiences a range of comfortable seating options.

Many Chinese acrobatic troupes have performed in the theater, including Deyang Acrobatic Troupe from Sichuan province in Southwest China.

The troupe has given performances in the theater for nearly two decades.

Flying, one of the troupe's classic shows, has broken the traditional boundaries for acrobatics and thrilled successive audiences.

To get inspiration for the show, its leading creative talents and directors made several visits to areas such as the Sanxingdui and Jinsha archaeological sites in Sichuan province. Archaeological discoveries prove that Sanxingdui, which dates back to around the 12th-11th centuries BC, contains the ruins of an ancient city that was the political, economic and cultural center of the ancient Shu Kingdom.

The show is based on the worship of the sun and birds by people in the Sichuan region thousands of years ago as well as the universal human desire to fly freely like birds.

A section in the show named "Death Wheel", according to Zhou Xiaoheng, head of the acrobatic troupe, is rarely seen in domestic performances, and its breathtaking routines often shock spectators.

At the show's climax, beautiful peacocks and macaws brought from Sichuan fly out over the audience before eventually returning to the acrobats who are waiting for them on the stage.

The creative and thrilling show boasts outstanding performance forms and involves dances, stage art and literature. Its excellent stage lighting helps create a powerful visual impact.

The spectacular show makes acrobatics more eye-catching and helps demonstrate Chinese traditional culture. It was one of the shining stars in Beijing's cultural tourism market during the 2008 Olympic Games.

Acrobatics is an incredible physically demanding performing art that has a long history in China. Historical documents show that China's traditional acrobatics date back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC).

The Chaoyang Theater, founded in 1984, has welcomed more than 5 million foreign spectators, and high-ranking overseas officials have heaped lavish praise on the remarkable acrobatic feats they have witnessed in the theater.

The theater has helped foreigners from institutions such as embassies, consulates and multinationals, as well as tourists, to learn more about both Beijing and China, and it has also been an excellent showcase for the country's singular brand of traditional acrobatics. Two acrobatic shows are performed every day in the theater, which can hold 1,300 people. Programs performed at the venue have won more than 30 domestic and international awards.

The theater's brand name, Acrobatic World, is widely recognized among the world's travel agencies, and some foreign agencies even make reservations two years in advance for tickets of acrobatic performances held in the theater.

The theater provides outstanding stage equipment, quality services and an excellent environment, and said it welcomes friends from different countries and regions.

Contact information:

Add: No 36 North Road, East Third Ring, Chaoyang district, Beijing

Tel: 6507 2421, 6506 8116, 6506 0837, 6506 0838

Fax: 6591 9346

www.bjcyjc.com

Award-winning shows

Techniques for two people show

The show participated in the Paris Tomorrow International Acrobatics Festival in France in January 2008 and received a gold award.

It was invited to participate in an international circus festival in Russia in October 2011 and won a gold award. According to one judge, a headstand performed during one of the show's performances was the most technically difficult he had seen during the festival.

At the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco in January 2014, every judge stood to applaud the show, and it was awarded a silver prize.

Balancing bowls on the head

The show attended an international youth acrobatic competition in Russia in September 2014 and was awarded a gold medal. It was one of the most popular performances at the event.

Balancing on stacked chairs

It was given the first-place silver prize at the 10th Wuhan International Acrobatic Art Festival in Hubei province in November 2012. According to Xia Juhua, president of the festival's judging committee, the show featured a high level of technical difficulty and, as a result, showcased the outstanding skills of its performers.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn